Beer Bread

After the disaster that was A's original birthday cake, I had almost an entire bottle of beer leftover. My first instinct? Beer bread. But not the quick bread kind. I wanted an honest to goodness loaf of yeasted bread made with beer. A quick scan through my shelf of bread books yielded a perfect and perfectly simple recipe for Beer Bread in the Bread Bible. I made this dough in the mixer, using sugar instead of malt powder or syrup. The dough after kneading was so silky and a pleasure to work with. I let it rise at room temperature and then shaped and allowed it to proof overnight in the fridge, although Rose says this is not necessary because of the deep flavor the beer gives. Anyway, the next day, I took the well risen loaf out of the fridge, scored and baked. Later that night, I ripped into it and the first bite was sweet, with an unidentifiable flavor contributed by the beer. It was, frankly, delicious with a soft and moist crumb. My roommate, a friend and I finished the whole loaf within minutes. Should it last longer than that, it would actually make great sandwiches. Even if you don't happen to have leftover beer on hand, I would strongly recommend you buy a bottle strictly for this purpose. This Beer Bread is headed for this week's Yeastspotting!

Nectarine Lattice Pie

I realize it's been a while since I last posted.. but there are good reasons for that, I assure you. One is I finally moved to my new apartment!!!!! Yes, I am sitting on my new bed, enjoying GOOD wireless internet (poo poo poo) in my new neighborhood. :) And secondly, my dad's here for the week, so between unpacking and spending time with him, (and sorting out ANNOYING army stuff) this Nectarine Lattice Pie, which I made a couple of weeks back when I went to visit L and J, got pushed to the back burner. This recipe was adapted from The Art and Soul of Baking. The original recipe is for a Nectarine Blackberry Pie but since blackberries cost an arm and a leg and it is peak season for nectarines, that's exactly what they got. (For those of you who think the concept of nectarine pie is bizarre, just think about peach pie, minus the fuzz.) I really enjoy making pies and this was no exception, especially since this one gave me a chance to improve my lattice making skills.  A scoop of ice cream on a hot Shabbat afternoon wouldn't be amiss here whether you choose to serve the pie hot or cold.

Double Fudge Mint Brownies

I'm not sure how I neglected to take a final photograph of these brownies, but it seems I did. Oh well. This past weekend I went to my friends (crazy!) in Alon Shvut and I baked dessert. L told me that she likes chocolate and mint while her husband likes fruit and pies. So for her, I made these Double Fudge Mint Brownies and for him, a nectarine pie (more on that later). For the brownies I used the brownies from KAF Whole Grain Baking and added in chopped Mint Thins to give them a mint profile. The mint thins melted nicely into the final brownie so you would never know they were there just by looking. They turned out nice and fudgy and delicious, with no indication that they are whole grain. Be sure to let them set overnight for the bran in the whole wheat to sufficiently soften. Following is a half recipe, as I made it. Double for a full 9x13 inch pan.

Gingerbread Cake with White Chocolate Lemon Mousse Frosting

My dear roommate A turned 23 last week and in honor, I wanted to make her a birthday cake. Not wanting there to be any surprises, I asked her what kind of cake she wanted and while she didn't have any definitive requests she was opposed to having a chocolate cake. The entire year A had been begging me to bake spice cookies so in tribute to that love of hers, I decided to bake a gingerbread cake. A quick browse through Sky High Cakes and I had found the cake I was going to bake. A Gingerbread Beer Cake. I went out to buy all the ingredients and set out to making it. I don't know what went wrong, but the cake turned out soft and sticky with no structure and it sunk. Big time. Into the trash it went. Plan B. I opened up my copy of Country Living's Great Cakes and landed on Grandma Stonifer's Spice Cake. Bingo. The recipe is one for a two layer birthday cake but of course as my oven has room for only one pan at a time, one layer baked up perfectly while the other sank. It was going to have to be a one layer birthday cake. I wrapped it up and set it aside for the next day. As I was on my way to catch a bus, an idea for frosting hit me like a ton of bricks. Lemon infused white chocolate ganache frosting! Excitedly, I went out to get the white chocolate and lemon and got to work right when I got back. Now, I'm not going to lie, I prepared the white chocolate ganache in Sherry Yard's book but I don't remember how much cream I added to it to get it to a spreadable consistency when I whipped it. I peeled off strips of zest from the lemon and steeped it in the cream, for a subtle but present flavor. When the frosting became spreadable, I covered the cake with it. I used my leftover gingerbread crumbs to coat the sides and some of the top, which was a big hit, pulling the lemon and ginger flavors together. A LOVED the frosting (she got so mad when she saw I got rid of the unused frosting) but thought the cake could use a bit more moisture, so next time I would add some oil in place of some of the shortening. All in all, this cake was a winner and I was very proud of it.

Carrot Bread

The final Shabbat that we had with the girls was spent in the dorms and as I was baking for it minimally, I decided to bake some rolls for myself. I'd long been wanting to make carrot bread and on one of my trips to the shuk, I remembered to pick up a couple to make the recipe from Secrets of a Jewish Baker, fast becoming one of my favorite bread books. (Yes, there is a bit of competition for that spot. I have more bread books than anything else!!) The bread calls for a sponge and some grated or ground carrots. The carrots lent a lovely orange color to the bread, but I wonder if the ground carrots would have made the color more intense and lent more of a sweetness to the bread itself. I opted to make half a recipe, which resulted in six large, perfect sandwich rolls. They turned out crusty on the outside but nice and soft in the middle. The flavor is much like a water roll and the texture is quite sturdy, so these would be perfect for burgers or sandwiches. I enjoyed mine with lots of eggplant salads on Shabbat. I omitted the milk powder from the recipe to keep them parve, but I imagine the addition of milk would make the texture a bit softer. I also made a note to increase the salt for next time, something I seem to be doing in all of Greenstein's breads. These rolls are being Yeastspotted! Check out Susan's weekly round up on Friday.